SHINING A LIGHT ON INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY IN HEALTHCARE COMMS
ADDRESSING INEQUALITIES IN WOMEN’S HEALTH EXPERIENCE // BEYOND BIKINI MEDICINE
IN CONVERSATION WITH... ANNA MAXWELL
LONG READ //TURNING FROM PAIN TOWARDS SOLUTIONS
Editorial contacts
Mike Dixon, CEO, Healthcare Communications Association; Rick Evans, Social Strategy Director, 90TEN; Stuart Mayell, Head of the Creative Difference, The Difference Collective; Edel McCaffrey Head of Corporate Communications, LGC Group & HCA Board Member; Alister Sansum, Independent Communications Consultant & HCA Board Member
Introduction
Addressing inequalities in women’s health through innovative communications // CATHERINE DEVANEY
Beyond bikini medicine: A campaign to shake things up by women in pharma // MIRIAM KENRICK & SARAH SOWERBY
Closing the gender health gap: Stop comparing, start targeting // DANIELLE FORRESTER & AMY O’CONNOR
Silenced Symptoms: Why social media needs to talk about health // REBECCA CARTER
Turning from pain towards solutions // SARAH SAVAGE
Only one question needs
be asked // JAMIE WHITBURN & SEMA GORNALL
INTRODUCTION
EDEL MCCAFFREY, GROUP HEAD OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS, LGC, INNOVATION UNCOVERED EDITORIAL TEAM & HCA BOARD MEMBER
This year, having reached the somewhat significant milestone of a thirty-year career in healthcare and corporate communications, I also have the joys of experiencing another, more personal and impactful one – menopause!
Menopause is a natural phase of life for us ladies, yet, until relatively recently, it’s a subject that’s been rarely talked about. Whilst some significant strides have been made, thanks to high profile advocates like Davina McCall championing the menopause cause, there is always room for improvement, such as understanding its impact in the workplace, and improving access to appropriate treatments, particularly when experiencing the nightmare of another acne outbreak, aching pains or horrendously hot flushes!
When our Innovation Uncovered editorial team mooted what topics we should consider for our next edition, perhaps rather selfishly, the topic of communicating about women’s health sprang to my mind. Also, having just judged this year’s Communiqué awards, it was inspiring to see some brilliant entries, using innovative approaches to engage women whose voices need to be heard. When our editorial team started exploring this subject further, it was apparent that there are a lot of valuable stories about women’s health to be told by our respected industry peers.
On that note, Catherine Devaney, founder of Curious Health and Communiqué Co-Chair, shares the story of this year’s multi-award winner, Unseen, Unheard - telling the untold stories of black women living with breast cancer. This insightful play was a truly innovative approach to connect black women with breast cancer, and share what they were thinking, feeling and experiencing.
Whilst considering other female voices that need to be heard, Jamie Whitburn and Sema Gornall from Stirred and the charity Vavengers respectively, share the devastating impact of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), by focusing on storytelling from an incredible team of strong, inspiring people with personal experience and how ‘Asking One Question’ can make a huge difference.
In this edition, we also hear from Miriam Kenrick and Sarah Sowerby, two trailblazers from Women in Pharma who tell us more about Beyond Bikini Medicine: a campaign that is really shaking things up in women’s’ health!
Noting the importance of inclusive language, Sarah Savage shares how blending tech and creativity is helping to close the gender pain gap.
We also hear from inspiring health leader, Anna Maxwell, founder and CEO of consumer healthcare company, Maxwellia, who has overturned established opinion about over-the counter medicines. Anna shares how ‘the switching engine, is the biggest innovation at the heart of Maxwellia and is creating new treatment options for women’s health.
Danielle Forrester and Amy O’Connor discuss the importance of recognising the impact that gender has on health and the role of gender targeted campaigns. Rebecca Carter explores some of the challenges of communicating health information on social media.
These are just a few highlights from this latest edition of Innovation Uncovered. On behalf of our editorial team, sincere thanks to all our contributors and we hope you will find this content helpful, as we all strive to do better, particularly when it comes to those female voices that need to be heard.
ADDRESSING IN WOMEN’S HEALTH INEQUALITIES
THROUGH INNOVATIVE COMMUNICATIONS
CATHERINE DEVANEY // FOUNDER, CURIOUS HEALTH AND CO-CHAIR OF THE COMMUNIQUÉ AWARDS
Let’s all say it together: women’s health is not just about ‘women’s bits’.
Ignored, dismissed, patronised… even lied to. Get a group of women together and there is a lot to say about their experiences of healthcare. Often this relates to menstruation, menopause and gynaecological conditions. However, the issue of inequity in women’s health goes far beyond conditions specific to women, to every aspect of healthcare. Women of colour, those living in areas of deprivation or assigned a different gender at birth experience even greater levels of inequity.
WHERE DOES THE PROBLEM LIE?
It starts with the basis of our knowledge and decision making in healthcare – clinical trials. The issue here is two-fold: women have historically not been well-represented in studies and results are often not analysed by gender. This means we don’t fully understand how drugs work in women. This could be short-changing both men and women.
There are also disparities in diagnosis, for example:
• Women have a 50 per cent higher chance than men of receiving the wrong initial diagnosis following a heart attack, according to a study partially-funded by the British Heart Foundation1
• Women have been found to experience a longer amount of time between symptom onset and cancer diagnosis than men2
• Roche Diagnostics and the charity Pumping Marvellous found that women wait five times longer than men for a heart failure diagnosis3
As healthcare professionals and policy makers don’t fully understand, and even dismiss health issues as experienced by women, the information gap is often filled by content on the internet. Dr Frances Yarlett is the Medical Director at The Lowdown, a women’s health research platform that provides credible, scientific information alongside reviews from women. She says: ‘Where there is a lack of understanding and research, something needs to fill this gap. And this is where misinformation online and on social media can thrive. If there is no credible place to debunk misinformation, the myths start to take over.’
Addressing disparities in women’s health requires more than changes in policy and clinical research strategies – it demands innovation and creativity in how we convey information and inspire action. In this article we explore how progressive and innovative communication strategies can play a pivotal role in bridging gaps and advocating for better health outcomes for women worldwide.
CO-CREATE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
As healthcare communicators we have the privilege and responsibility to share the experiences of people with health issues. Impactful campaigns don’t just use these experiences to build an insight for a creative platform. These real stories are woven into content in different ways – video, animation, artwork – this is well established best practice.
Finalists in the charity campaign category at the 2024 Communiqué Awards and winner of Best Charity Film at the 2024 Charity Film Awards, Wellbeing of Women worked with Lark on an empowering campaign to tackle period stigma and help women get the care they need. Millions of women experience severe period pain or heavy bleeding, but many are dismissed and told it’s ‘just’ their period. They developed the majority of campaign visuals using input from Wellbeing of Women’s online community.
‘We wanted as many women and girls as possible to see themselves, and their experiences, reflected in this campaign’, says Paul Allen, director at Lark
‘The campaign name “Just a Period” was a phrase we knew many women had heard from their GPs. The campaign visual identity features a ‘word wall’, articulating the intense emotional and physical pain of a severe period. A social call-out asked followers to describe their period in one word, and we had incredible responses. We then tested different routes with the charity’s supporters, and their feedback helped us develop the final campaign.
It was also essential that the women who featured in our campaign film represented a range of ages, backgrounds and conditions, and we were able to show diverse experiences of living with endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). I believe much of this campaign’s success is down to the honesty that guided the creative execution. This wasn’t about embellishing a story – it was about giving a voice to women who’d been fighting to be heard.’
Progressive campaigns are now going one step further to very genuinely co-create with the audience. Given that women’s individual experiences are often dismissed or belittled, this approach has a very important place in women’s health. It enables women to represent their experiences and own their narrative. This is particularly important in subjects that carry a stigma, such as periods, or are considered taboo by many.
TACKLE TABOOS TO REDUCE THE KNOWLEDGE VACUUM
Canesten®’s ‘The Truth Undressed’ is an education platform based on the belief that before getting into other educational areas around relationships and sexual health, young women and girls have the right to understand their bodies – without shame, stigma, or speculation. Hopefully you’ve just clicked on the link to the campaign and are imagining the discussions that must have been had with the approvals team. Brave, isn’t it?
In collaboration with the Personal, Social, Health, and Economic (PSHE) Association, teaching materials were developed with the mission to help educate young people with vulvas about their bodies and help reduce the shame and discomfort surrounding intimate health. A dedicated microsite and social media campaign was also developed by Canesten to broaden access to the information. Demystifying vulval and vaginal health by delivering information in a way that resonates with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
‘For too long, the story of female health and anatomy has been told against a backdrop of what we see as a society – immediately rendering it as hypersexual and explicit or as a source of shame. These narratives have continued to be driven by social media, dictating what is “acceptable”, “perfect”, “normal” when it comes to vulvas – but we know that these representations certainly aren’t reality. Instead of allowing shame and sexualisation to write the story, we wanted to put the power back into the hands of people and get real about them.’ said Daria Costantini, Marketing Lead for Canesten at Bayer Consumer Health.
USE INNOVATION TO ENGAGE WOMEN WHOSE VOICES NEED TO BE HEARD
Innovation is not always about the ‘how’. Many people within the industry are now committed to working harder to reach underserved populations. Much needed progress is being made in the way we approach finding and engaging audiences that we’ve previously unhelpfully described as ‘hard to reach’.
Laura Chambers, Mearns & Pike, expands on this. ‘When people think “innovation” in 2024 it can be tempting to focus along the lines of tech and whilst developments in this area are no doubt exciting and important, innovation can also be defined by simply doing things differently to engage an underserved community. That’s what we did with Unseen Unheard – the innovation was about truly connecting with what Black women with breast cancer were thinking, feeling, and experiencing and quite literally putting a theatrical spotlight on it. Nobody had done that before and the progress that has been made since the play was first performed last year demonstrates that this new way of thinking has paid off.’
Unseen Unheard is a collaboration between Black Women Rising, Theatre Peckham, Gilead Sciences and Mearns & Pike designed to ignite a conversation about cancer inequalities. The vehicle to achieve this was a powerful and disruptive play, commissioned and funded by Gilead Sciences. Black women diagnosed with breast cancer have been found to have poorer survival than white women. Black women do not feel seen or heard when compared to white women facing the same life-changing cancer diagnosis and have poorer survival rates.
Unseen Unheard ran to a packed-out, community theatre in Peckham over six nights. The play has been a catalyst to change the Black women breast cancer experience.
The work has been recognised at the Communiqué Awards 2024 as winners in four categories including the Progress Award. You can see more examples of finalist’s work at communiqueawards.com/results/ communique-awards-2024-results/
REFERENCES
“Unseen Unheard shot the experiences of Black women with breast cancer into the stratosphere. Important people are now asking what they can do to help? How they can do things differently? More people are now reaching out to me, and more doors are opening. We now have seats at tables that previously wouldn’t have been available to us.”
Leanne Pero MBE, Founder, Black Women Rising. Credit: Black Women Rising
LET’S GET THIS SORTED
We’ve seen that work is being delivered that tackles the issue that affects a whopping half of the world’s global population. I’m sure we all feel impatient to do more, particularly for women who aren’t able to access information, resources, diagnosis, and treatment due to inequities beyond gender.
I know I’m going to use these examples of impressive, innovative work to inspire my own approach to communications. Healthcare communications remains an industry which is female dominated. We need to do what we do best: use our smarts, bravery, resilience and contacts to get ‘stuff’ done.
1. British Heart Foundation. Women are 50% more likely than men to be given incorrect diagnosis following a heart attack. Available at: https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2016/august/women-are-50-per-cent-more-likely-than-men-to-begiven-incorrect-diagnosis-following-a-heart-attack Accessed October 2024.
2. Din NU, et al. (2015) Age and Gender Variations in Cancer Diagnostic Intervals in 15 Cancers: Analysis of Data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. PLoS ONE 10(5): e0127717. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127717 Accessed: October 2024.
3. Roche Diagnostics. Heart Failure: the Hidden Costs of Late Diagnosis, 2020. Available at: chrome-extension:// efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://hfreport.roche.com/image/6721401/Roche%20HF%20report%20portrait%20final.pdf Accessed October 2024
BEYOND BIKINI MEDICINE:
A CAMPAIGN TO SHAKE THINGS UP BY WOMEN IN PHARMA
MIRIAM KENRICK & SARAH SOWERBY // WOMEN IN PHARMA
It all started one Saturday afternoon in a bookshop in Aylesbury of all places!
Just the previous day over cocktails in the sunshine, Sarah Sowerby and I decided to set up Women in Pharma. Our vision was to inspire women in life sciences by sharing authentic stories and to help to empower them to step up into leadership.
Determined to take on this new passion project with all the knowledge I could muster and help overcome my imposter syndrome (‘who am I to do this?!’) I went to my local bookshop to see what I could buy on the topic of women.
Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women literally fell into my hands. Male or female alike, if you haven’t read it, it’s a MUST. As I read about how our world has been created through the unconscious lens of the male perspective, I felt like I was experiencing my own version of The Truman Show which, if you haven’t seen that, it’s a must too!
The chapters on health and medicine blew my mind. Having been in the industry for over 25 years creating promotional and educational campaigns on all kind of brands and therapy areas, I had never looked at data split by biological gender. Never even seen it or thought to ask for it. At best we talked about disease prevalence based on gender but never dug into the why. It was just a statement and then we moved onto the clinical data. Multiple sclerosis more common in women. Depression and anxiety more common in women. And so on.
And yet as I read the facts pulled together in Invisible Women I realised we’ve not been looking at health through the lens of gender. Because the assumption is that women are just smaller men with different reproductive parts; that we are the same apart from the bits that typically go under a bikini.
Going back all the way to Socrates, it has shaped the paradigm of medicine. Our medical textbooks, curricula, the way we look at health and diseases and conduct research and development studies. This is our Truman Show So, what happens when we, like Jim Carrey, decide to row all the way out to the other side?
We find out that we are different biological creatures. Our DNA is different at a cellular level. Most human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, half from each parent and with the 23rd pair being either XX or XY – the sex chromosomes. Biological males have XY, and biological females have XX. The X is 3 times larger than the Y containing around 1000 genes, which beyond sexual development, code for heart, brain and immune system. Women have 2 Xs, one of which is turned inactive to ensure that cells don’t produce double proteins. The Y chromosome has about 100 genes the fewest genes of any chromosome and codes for male sexual and reproductive health.
Beyond the cells, male and female bodies have different endocrine systems. The CEO of the male body is testosterone. Testosterone is relatively steady through a man’s life, with certain peak times as they develop from boy to man, and then declining very gradually from about the age of 30. A man gets a boost of testosterone in his system every 15 minutes, which helps provide confidence, clarity of thinking, focus, drive and resilience.
Women have some testosterone too but around 1/10 of a man and like the rest of a woman’s sex-related hormones, these are cyclical. The CEO of the female body is oestrogen, which goes up and down through the month and has significant changes through her lifetime from prepuberty, puberty, pregnancy, post pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause. Whilst we’re usually taught about the role of oestrogen as a reproductive hormone it is absolutely key in brain health. ‘Mum or perimenopause brain’ where women are less able to find words or have memory issues is a real phenomenon related to lower levels of oestrogen in the brain. The latest research from neuroscientist Lisa Mosconi is showing that perimenopause is actually a neuro-endocrine process that rewires the brain and increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in women compared to men, 2:1. Because oestrogen is involved in mood, memory, learning and cognitive executive function when oestrogen fluctuates through our cycles or lifetimes this can affect so much of our ability to function in the world way beyond the reproductive dimension.
The other key factor in health, wellbeing and disease is our stress response. Testosterone helps dampen the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal (HPA) axis which is the source of our stress response. By contrast, low levels of oestrogen in women increases activation of the HPA axis. That explains why women can be more sensitive emotionally and easier to become stressed in the latter part of their cycle, post pregnancy and during perimenopause. If, over time, stress is sustained, this can lead to chronic inflammation which is the source of many diseases. It is also thought to be a factor behind autoimmune diseases where the immune system goes into overdrive and starts attacking itself. Nearly 80% of autoimmune diseases are in women.
After
a career working in this industry and assuming biological sameness, discovering all this was mindblowing, not to mention how this manifests in terms of disease.
The more you start to look from respiratory to cardiovascular disease, from cancer to Alzheimer’s, from irritable bowel syndrome to brain and mood disorders it becomes patently clear that biological gender matters. It can affect how common a disease is, how it shows up, how it is diagnosed and how it is treated. But if you’re not looking you’re not going to think about it.
The good news is that we’re on the brink of a paradigm shift. Our #beyondbikinimedicine white paper and manifesto for change for the life sciences industry is one of many initiatives ongoing to campaign for a new gendered perspective on health. It’s amazing to see what is happening – from the Women’s Health Strategy for England to United States President Biden’s State of the Union address in 2024 asking Congress to invest $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research. The European Union’s 7 year ¤85 billion Horizon Programme, due to begin in 2025, will make it the largest funder to require sex and gender analyses. And the Medical Science Sex and Gender Equity (MESSAGE) project, which is championing improved integration of sex and gender in biomedical, health and care research has secured 32 signatories supporting its principles, including the Medical Research Council, MHRA and NICE, the big charities including Alzheimer’s, Heart and Diabetes UK, plus leading publications like The BMJ and The Lancet.
We’ve still got a long way to go. But it’s great to be part of leading the way.
It’s scary to put your head above the parapet. Women’s health has always been seen as a niche, rather than affecting 51% of the population. It’s easy to worry about how you will be perceived by what is still mostly a male leadership paradigm in life sciences. We don’t want to be seen as man bashing. We’re all part of this cultural paradigm and it goes back a long way. Change isn’t easy and no one alive today is to blame. But when you know something, you can’t unknow it and that is what we want to do. To bring something we’ve overlooked into the light for examination and due consideration.
We recognise that gender is a sensitive word, but we are talking about biological sex. There is scant evidence for XX or XY people and even less for those with chromosomal variation or who identify to a gender different to their biological sex.
We’re certainly not denying that there is more to health than the gendered lens. We can cut the population multiple ways and we know race and ethnicity is also a key driver. But we are leaving that to others to work on. At least we can say with 51% of the population being ‘female’ we will be addressing a group whose needs have not been uniquely considered so far in health and medicine which is sorely needed.
Even the campaign name ‘beyond bikini medicine’, which most people love as we wanted it to be catchy and provocative, might not suit those who would never wear a bikini for cultural reasons – but in general people ‘get it’. Nothing big happens without some generalisations. We’ve seen that with the menopause campaign. Things need to be simple to land in the wider world.
Overall, we’ve had a great response to the campaign from men and women alike. We’ve had great support from a group of female leaders in the National Health Service (NHS). We’ve had fantastic support from various healthcare consultancies with special credit to The Salve for helping us turn our first draft written in between work meetings into something properly referenced and credible!
What’s amazing is that everyone we talk to seems to be hearing this for the first time.
It just goes to show we are not taught this stuff. It is shocking and surprising. And we recognise it can feel overwhelming and disorientating. How did we not know this? What do we do now with this information? How do we change such a huge system? How do we raise this with our companies? It takes courage. It’s only together that we can make progress.
In terms of next steps, we’re now trying to bring this to the awareness of the industry at large. We’ve presented at our own events, at Ethical Medicines Industry Group (EMIG). The more we do the more we get asked to do which is fantastic. We’re now keen to engage the larger companies as we know some are already working on this and can lead the way.
The manifesto is designed to be a simple framework that companies can use to guide the change management process. We need to learn how it goes and what support organisations need. And who will lead the change? That’s still something we’re working on. All as a side hustle. We just need to make sure we don’t burn our HPA axes out along the way.
REFERENCES
1. Women in Pharma: Campaign # Beyond Bikini Medicine. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/36hutyna Accessed October 2024
2. Lisa Mosconi. The Menopause Brain. Available at: https://www.lisamosconi.com/the-menopause-brain Accessed October 2024.
3. Mosconi, L., Nerattini, M., Matthews, D.C. et al. In vivo brain estrogen receptor density by neuroendocrine aging and relationships with cognition and symptomatology. Sci Rep 14, 12680 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-62820-7 Accessed October 2024.
4. The Menopause Doctor: This Diet Delays Menopause! Menopause Is Shrinking Your Brain! Dr Lisa Mosconi. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgo2mD4Pc54 Accessed October 2024.
CLOSING THE GENDER HEALTH GAP:
STOP COMPARING, START TARGETING
DANIELLE FORRESTER // SENIOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, ENVISION PHARMA GROUP
AMY O’CONNOR //
GLOBAL LEAD, POLICY & ADVOCACY, MOVEMBER
It’s two years on from when the much-needed Women’s Health Strategy was first launched in England to tackle the gender health gap.
And while there is a long way to go to address the inequalities faced by women in healthcare as many of the authors in this issue have pointed out, from lack of research on the use of medicines in pregnancy, to symptoms being written off as ‘women’s problems’, men too face their own challenges.
For men, their challenges are complex and can come from being more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour, having lower health literacy rates, but also being less likely to seek support. Consequently, the impact can be devastating – with two in five men in the UK dying prematurely.1
Recognising the impact of gender on health and the gender-specific inequalities, or rather inequities, is an important step to addressing the unique health challenges faced by men and women. However, it feels as if in the race to highlight the inequities that exist, we fail to acknowledge and celebrate the past successes of gender-targeted campaigns on both sides of the fence.
Far too often, creativity and potential impact through a gendered, targeted approach, is sacrificed to ensure we are seen to be addressing all needs of all people in hope of a greater return of investment.
As agencies, we’ve seen this kind of feedback countless times when it comes to pitching gender-targeted campaigns, despite this being a recognised way of reaching populations in the consumer brand and third-sector world. And so, at the end of the day, too often campaigns are designed for everyone, but resonate with few.
But this shouldn’t be the case, especially when we look at success stories of adopting a gendered, targeted approach – with impressive outcomes, from high engagement with the campaign to creating actual policy change.
To illustrate this point, let’s look at traditional gender norms, that can influence all stages of health – from diagnosis to treatment, to adherence and care. For men, the pressure to conform to these idealised, traditional masculinities can impact how, when and where men engage with their health. Norms can be protective of health in certain contexts (e.g. men’s interest in physical fitness and diet), whereas they can also harm men when applied rigidly in other ways, including creating a stigma that prevents men from seeking help.
With the suicide rate three times higher for men than for women, and the leading cause of death among men aged 20 34 years, campaigns like Norwich City Football club’s #YouAreNotAlone for World Mental Health Day did well to put a spotlight on this national crisis in men. By tapping into a place where men are, and using a simple story that hits with emotional impact, this video achieved over 55 million views.2
But without leveraging the gender norms present in society, would this have had the same effect? Probably not. But its these sorts of success stories in creativity that we should recognise and empower ourselves as healthcare advocates to champion a gendered, targeted approach.
For women, they too are impacted by the same gender norms, with the act of caring falling disproportionately on them as they play a key role in advocating for the health of the family – making sure those regular dental appointments are in the diary and vaccinations are up to date. It’s a lot.
On top of this, norms around opening up about taboo topics in seek of support within communities — as opposed to healthcare settings is a big issue for women, particularly within certain cultures. For example, menopause and periods have always been here and always will be. But for some reason even in western society, we are shamed into hiding tampons up our sleeves while popping to the loo and 90% of us are left feeling anxious at work due to that time of the month.3 This is something Bloody Good Period
has been set on challenging to ensure the reality of periods are factored into society and how we are set up, so that they as a charity no longer need to exist.3
For menopause, up until recently no woman in a professional context ever dared mention that they were suffering from menopausal symptoms, but with 23% of women in the workforce at a menopause age in the UK,4 it is staggering to think that we are only now making this change. But driving this change has been an increase of role models to speak out and lead the conversation.4 With the likes of Davina McCall running TV documentaries and joining forces with charities and high-profile newspapers to make menopause matter, we now see a rise in the number of menopause employee resource groups or workplace policies in the UK.
So, it seems that when it comes to acknowledging these traditional gender norms – or any genderspecific issue – we need to look at the wider environment, and understand the catalyst for change. Is it an emotive piece of thought-provoking content that gets people talking or simply a high-profile influencer, to let individuals know they have social permission to speak on these topics?
And how
do we bring gender-specific
needs into focus alongside the other social determinants of health to ensure more effective campaigns that promote equity and improve outcomes for all?
We know that when individuals are in good health it has a ripple effect on their families, colleagues and communities, so improving the health of one population can benefit us all. To bring these genderspecific needs into focus, we need to not only have the courage to recognise that a one size fits all approach won’t work, but also convince those more commercially minded clients that a gender-specific approach will see a greater health outcome.
REFERENCES
1. Movember. The Real Face of Men’s Health report. https://uk.movember.com/movember-institute/the-real-face-of-menshealth-report Accessed: October 2024.
2. Norwich City Football Club. Mental Health video made available to all. https://www.canaries.co.uk/content/mental-health-video-madeavailable-to-all Accessed: October 2024.
3. Bloody Good Period. Bloody Good Research: Periods and menstrual wellbeing in the workplace - the case for change. https://tinyurl.com/m4nx6zea Accessed October 2024.
4. Balance. Menopause and employment law: where do you stand? https://www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/menopauseand-employment-law-where-do-you-stand/ Accessed: October 2024.
SILENCED SYMPTOMS: WHY SOCIAL MEDIA NEEDS TO TALK ABOUT HEALTH
REBECCA CARTER // HEAD OF SOCIAL MEDIA AT OGILVY HEALTH
A quick scroll through TikTok or Instagram reveals millions of people sharing their latest ailment, seeking health advice and connecting with others facing similar health challenges.
A staggering 8 in 10 of us turn to these platforms for information on doctors, hospitals and diseases.1 Yet, as important as these platforms are, it’s come to light that social media giants including Instagram and Facebook are blocking some health information.
A survey of more than 50 organisations by the CensHERship campaign found that 90% of respondents who shared women’s health content had experienced being censored on social media.2
To try and tackle this issue, Bodyform launched a campaign called ‘Vaginas Uncensored’ that aimed to empower women to reclaim the words that are being blocked on social platforms. The brand uncensored ‘40 words you can’t say’ every day for 40 days, revealing real people’s stories and experiences to encourage others to talk about menstrual health.
This issue extends beyond women’s health. Influencers who bravely and openly share their journeys living with skin conditions are often met with blocked posts and deleted content. We have seen instances where Instagram added ‘sensitive content screens’ to photos of psoriasis to make the image blurry and warn users that the photo contains sensitive or graphic content before they view it. Even creative workarounds in written post copy, like substituting letters with symbols (e.g. v@gina, s3x) are often unsuccessful. By blocking or adding warnings to this type of content, we are reinforcing a culture of shame around natural bodily functions and experiences, hindering open dialogue about important health topics.
Social media platforms are facing increasing pressure to adjust their policies to avoid the restriction and censorship of health content, but the challenge lies in finding the balance between protecting users from harmful content (like dangerous weight loss trends or suicidal ideation) and allowing for open discussions about health. The sheer volume of content posted daily adds another layer of complexity.
So, while social media companies navigate these complex issues, how can healthcare brands responsibly raise awareness and provide accessible health information?
1. Prioritise credibility and accuracy. Partnering with patients and healthcare professionals to create evidence-based health content is crucial to combat misinformation and build trust
2. Think beyond the screen. Integrating online efforts with offline initiatives such as conferences and community events can amplify reach and impact
3. Know the rules. Keep up to date with the latest platform policies and regulatory guidance in your local market
Social media has transformed how we engage with health information and plays a big role in supporting and impacting health behaviours. By advocating for responsible content moderation policies and embracing innovative strategies, we can harness the power of these platforms to create a more informed, empowered and inclusive healthcare landscape for all.
HOW BLENDING TECH AND CREATIVITY IS HELPING TO CLOSE THE GENDER PAIN GAP
SARAH SAVAGE // INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT
Finally, improvements are starting to be made that are slowly shrinking the gender pain gap thanks to harnessing new ideas in tech and leveraging creative thinking. This article explores the issues and how we can collaborate to tackle them, to ultimately continue this critical movement and drive improved outcomes for women suffering painful and debilitating conditions.
A NOTE ON LANGUAGE
We recognise the importance of inclusive language. We know not all people who identify as women are born biologically female. References to ‘women’ in this article includes people assigned female at birth, in the context of sex-specific conditions, and people who identify as women, in the context of their experiences of pain in healthcare settings. We believe more research into health issues inclusive of all genders is needed, overlaid with intersectional factors such as race, ethnicity and disability, to truly address the gender health gap.
One of the hardest things to quantify and describe in health, is pain. It’s so multi-faceted, and every person experiencing it will describe it in a different way. So, it’s hardly surprising that when you overlay this with the wellknown disparities in women’s health, it becomes really challenging for healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients alike.
The multifactorial disparities in women’s health are essentially an issue of health equity and inclusion, as McKinsey’s Health Institute report on the health burden relating to the women’s health gap sets out.1 Here we’re talking not only of sex-specific conditions such as endometriosis and menopause, but also general health conditions that may affect women differently or disproportionately. The report makes for compelling reading – not only on the basis of economic arguments but to improve the lives of women through improved health equity.
A simple search online will highlight how women’s
The situation is nuanced and complex, as you’d expect. Variations in healthcare systems across the European region paint different pictures that are even more glaring on a global stage. Socioeconomic and cultural barriers play a part, as do generational differences in attitudes towards seeking medical help in the first place. Taking an intersectional view, it’s worse for women of Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. In March 2023, results were published in Anaesthesia – a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists – from an investigation into ethnic differences in obstetric care between 2011 and 2021 in the UK.2 Findings showed for vaginal births, Bangladeshi-British (by 24%), Pakistani-British (by 15%) and Black Caribbean-British (by 8%) women are less likely than white women to receive an epidural. Whilst barriers to information and knowledge are cited, so is the issue of empathy bias from HCPs in the interpretation of labour pain from different ethnic groups.
When you consider these factors alongside the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials – it wasn’t until 1993 that the United States Congress passed a law requiring companies to include women in clinical trials – the entrenched systemic and behavioural obstacles we’re up against are plain to see, but they are not immovable.
In communications, we have the opportunity to address these obstacles and call for collective action to close the gender pain gap. To see what’s possible when communications, creativity and
AS COMMUNICATORS, WHAT CAN WE DO?
What we’re facing is a need for societal behaviour change. By applying a topline behavioural science lens, we can see the range of barriers we’re up against and consider how to address them with appropriate strategies and interventions:
Capability
• Do women and girls have the right information and knowledge about what is ‘normal’?
• Do they have the right language and confidence to communicate pain that is not ‘normal’ and seek help from their HCP by asking the right questions?
Opportunity
• Do HCPs have systems around them that will help, or hinder?
Motivation
• Do HCP’s recognise this is a genuine issue that needs to be addressed?
• Are they committed to tackling it in their own practice?
These questions show us what it’s going to take – everything from smashing generational habits to unconscious bias training and cross-sector collaboration, partnership and action.
You may be aware of Nurofen’s pledge to raise awareness and bring about change. While creative solutions for speaking about pain are already in circulation (think pain diaries, Nurofen’s Pain Pass,4 and emoji pain scales), this is a call to our creative communications hive to join the movement.
It’s also an arena for creativity as a powerful tool for driving meaningful change. You only need to look at campaigns like This Girl Can (www.thisgirlcan.co.uk) to see the impact of creativity in changing behaviour, specific to gender, at all ages and life stages. What makes this campaign so brilliant is its simplicity in being insights-led, followed through with relatable, personable, accessible content. No matter the barrier you might face in getting active, you can see yourself represented.
BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT – ALL HAIL THE FEMTECH REVOLUTION!
If we lift our gaze to broader women’s health, we see positivity and hope on the horizon in the explosion of technology-based solutions for women over the last decade. Dubbed in 2016 by Danish entrepreneur Ida Tin, ‘FemTech’ is badged as a potential disruptor to the healthcare industry with a focus on customer-centricity. It makes good business sense – in many cases women are the primary decision-makers not only for their own health needs but also for their families. The focus of these companies are solutions for sex-specific women’s health needs, such as fertility, maternal health and menopause. However, some products offer solutions for conditions, like osteoporosis, that affect women differently from men.
Of relevance to pain, take endometriosis, a condition affecting one in ten women during their reproductive years. The global platform endometriosis.org, signposted by the World Endometriosis Society, points to potential diagnostic delays of up to 12 years,5 in part due to the ‘normalisation’ of symptoms. Here we come back to individuals not necessarily knowing what level of pain should be expected, as well as being led to believe it’s something they should just put up with.
Endometriosis is an area with promising progress in FemTech innovation. For example:
• Hera Biotech – the developer behind the world’s first non-surgical test for definitive diagnosis and staging of endometriosis
• Syrona Health – virtual assistant SORA helps individuals track their symptoms and learn more about their menstrual cycle, providing free support for chronic gynaecological health conditions, including endometriosis
• Phendo – free research app that helps individuals track, manage, and understand endometriosis and self-management strategies
Alongside the wearable tech market with solutions to help manage issues such as menstrual pain, there’s reason to feel hopeful for a future of pain management empowerment, whilst still acknowledging the crucial work to be done in tackling the root causes of the gender pain gap. Whilst the topic is nothing new, there is now hope that we’re turning a corner, with increasing momentum to tackle these issues head on, leveraging a solutions-focused and creative mindset.
The world we live in is forever changing, with technological advancements and innovation speeding up the pace. Women have found their voice and they’re helping to drive meaningful change.
And so, the time is now - for a concerted effort to close the gender pain gap. As agencies and industry, we have a joint role in developing cohesive strategies that build upon technological advances, harnessing creativity to activate our audiences and ultimately change the way we communicate, interact and turn towards solutions.
REFERENCES
1. McKinsey. Closing the women’s health gap: A $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/closingthe-womens-health-gap-a-1-trillion-dollar-opportunity-toimprove-lives-and-economies Accessed October 2024
2. Bamber et al. Ethnic disparities in obstetric anaesthetic care in England Anaesthesia 2023, 78, 820–829. Available at: https://associationofanaesthetistspublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ anae.16019 Accessed October 2024.
3. Nurofen. Gender Pain Gap Index Report, Australia February 2024. Available at: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/ https://www.nurofen.com.au/static/nurofen_gender_ pain_gap_index_report-f00936d5b068bc721a9bc5876fc 91b63.pdf Accessed October 2024.
4. Nurofen. See My Pain. Available at: https://www.nurofen.co.uk/see-my-pain/ Accessed October 2024.
5. Endometriosis.org. Available at: https://endometriosis.org/endometriosis/diagnosis/ Accessed October 2024.
ONLY ONE QUESTION NEEDS TO BE ASKED
ASKING A SIMPLE QUESTION COULD HELP END FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
JAMIE WHITBURN AND SEMA GORNALL // STIRRED & THE VAVENGERS
In February this year, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) hit the headlines in the UK following the sentencing of a woman from Harrow who was found guilty of organising for a three-year-old girl to be subjected to the illegal form of abuse.
Some of the coverage attempted to quantify the number of women and girls in the UK who are survivors of FGM/C, but the uncomfortable truth is – no one really knows how many there are, because women aren’t being asked the vital question.
While the NHS publishes quarterly datasets1 on the number of cases identified, there is no standardised approach to identifying survivors, leading to very real data poverty. The majority of cases are identified reactively during obstetric or gynaecology care, meaning it is likely that many cases go unidentified and that the true figures are far higher. This poses an enormous barrier to ensuring survivors get the support they need.
The Vavengers are a charity determined to do something about the problem. Formed in 2014, The Vavengers are committed to ending FGM/C and all other forms of Violence Against Women and Girls. As with many newer charities, raising their profile has been a pivotal aim. Here, the Vavengers team and communications agency Stirred share more about their work doing just that.
‘Without pro-bono work and/or charitable giving, The Vavengers simply could not thrive. We are forever grateful to everyone who supports our cause, and there is an open door for anyone who would like to get involved and become a Vavenger’. Sema Gornall, CEO, The Vavengers
WHAT IS FGM/C?
FGM/C is the cutting or removal of the external female genitals for non-medical purposes. It is a form of modern slavery and Gender-Based Violence. It’s also a direct attack on women and girl’s bodily autonomy, creating a lifelong physical and mental health trauma often subjected on girls at a very young age. It’s illegal in the UK and many countries across the globe, although not legally recognised as abuse in enough countries. FGM/C causes a long list of issues including severe pain, excessive bleeding, infections, urinary problems and death, yet it still continues, placing a heavy burden on the women and girls who are subjected to this form of violence.
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
The Vavengers: Ultimately, we want to end FGM/C and all other forms of Violence Against Women and Girls. Our ‘One Question Campaign’ seeks to address the systemic issues facing survivors in UK healthcare settings. We want the NHS to help identify survivors who need support, enable access to reconstructive surgery in the UK for those who need it, and provide specialist mental health support.
Our work involves campaigning, providing direct support (our award-winning pop-up hubs have proved particularly successful) and education.
We needed to raise our profile through media coverage, get more engagement on our existing communications channels and secure more direct participation in our education efforts among health care professionals. Over the last year we’ve had the support of Stirred on a pro-bono basis to help us in these areas.
HOW DID THE PARTNERSHIP COME ABOUT?
Stirred: As a B Corp-certified agency, we have the principle of ‘business as a force for good’ firmly embedded in our psyche, and delivering on a pro bono commitment is a core component of that. We wanted to find an opportunity where we could make a real difference for a cause we felt passionate about, but we were also keen to learn – we were open about the fact that we didn’t have a great deal of knowledge of FGM/C when we began the relationship, but saw expanding our awareness as a team as an important part of the work.
The Vavengers: Our relationship was initially brokered by the wonderful Passion Partnership who match organisations like ours with agencies who are keen to provide some of their time on a pro-bono basis. When we met the Stirred team, we knew they were a great match to help deliver our message.
WHAT WAS YOUR COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY?
Stirred: We knew it was really important to have a two-pronged strategy for this work. Firstly, there was a clear need to create noise that could help provide the backdrop for a policy shift in the national landscape – so a top-down, national media approach was necessary. Secondly, it was equally important to connect and engage with frontline health workers. Not only would they be the best people to spread awareness among their peers, if one nurse supported one survivor because they were more informed, then we would have had an impact. Between the two audiences, we could create a virtuous circle for stakeholder engagement that would build momentum.
“I SOMETIMES THINK, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I’D NEVER MET THE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL WHO ASKED ME IF I’D EXPERIENCED FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION… MY DAUGHTER MIGHT HAVE BEEN CUT.”
Dr
Leyla Hussein OBE, Advisory Board Member, The Vavengers
HOW DID YOU SET ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THIS STRATEGY?
The Vavengers: Stirred and our team spoke lots about the importance of language. It’s crucial to show that this is a form of child and sexual abuse that is global; over 230 million women and girls are survivors of FGM/C2. It is illegal, a form of modern slavery and often girls are subjected to this form of violence at a very young age. It’s not a cultural or religious issue and is purely about oppression and control of female autonomy.
We already had a focus for our core campaign – the idea that HCPs asking ‘One Question’ to all female patients can be the catalyst for identifying more survivors and therefore getting them the vital support they need and deserve. We needed that idea to be activated on a national level.
Stirred: We began with a focus on storytelling. The Vavengers have an incredible team of strong, articulate and inspiring people, and connections to many others. Their stories would be key to educating our audiences and providing the backdrop to the other activities we had planned. Hoda Ali, a former nurse and The Vavengers’ Co-founder, has personal experience of the impact of FGM/C and of how asking One Question can make a huge difference. Sharing her story with key journalists across national, HCP and regional media outlets was an important first step that provided a platform for more activity. For some titles, we saw value in making appropriate links to other women’s health topics to increase interest. For example, tapping into the zeitgeist around menopause and explaining how FGM/C can trigger early onset of symptoms proved effective.
As The Vavengers ramped up their activity, we built on the early media coverage. The Vavengers secured a meeting at the House of Lords, attended by senior NHS officials including Chief Nursing Officer Dame Ruth May. With the opportunity to take their voice to the next level, we collaborated with other high profile influencers supportive of the cause. Arranging a photocall featuring Sabrina Elba, The Vavengers’ Campaign Ambassador, led to a cascade of media coverage across many of our target outlets.
HARMS CAUSED BY FGM/C
There are no health benefits to FGM/C and it causes serious harm, including:
• constant pain
• pain and difficulty having sex
• repeated infections, which can lead to infertility
• bleeding, cysts and abscesses
• problems peeing or holding pee in (incontinence)
• depression, flashbacks and self-harm, ongoing mental and physical trauma
• problems during labour and childbirth, which can be life threatening for mother and baby
Some girls die from blood loss or infection as a direct result of this form of abuse.3
Find out more about FGM/C on The Vavengers website
WHAT ABOUT HCP ENGAGEMENT?
Stirred: HCPs in general felt like a very broad audience so we wanted to be more targeted. Nursing had covered the stories in our first wave of activity so we began speaking with them about how we could collaborate further to engage more nurses on the topic. We wanted to determine the baseline of knowledge among nurses – this would help tailor activities and give us evidence to support the case for more education. In partnership with Nursing we ran a survey completed by some 700 nurses and then held a ‘virtual conference’ chaired by Nursing Times’ editor, Steve Ford.
The Vavengers: The survey provided revealing insights, enabling us to create a learning experience that would help not only fill the knowledge gaps, but also encourage changes in practice. It also brought opportunities for more media coverage. Nursing Times is a great gateway to one of our key audiences, so to have two front page mentions, and separate features on the need for more training and then on the virtual conference, was a significant step in achieving our goals. We were subsequently named their Charity of the Year, platforming our message to over 800 senior nursing and midwifery leaders at their annual awards ceremony.
WHAT ELSE DID THE CAMPAIGN ACHIEVE?
Stirred: We were able to demonstrate results against the three main communication aims:
• 350 media mentions of The Vavengers in 2023, compared to 8 in 2022.
• 97% neutral/positive coverage.
• 15 interview requests (versus 0 in 2022).
• A dramatic increased in share of voice, from 0.02% in 2022 to 15% in 2023 of all FGM UK articles.
• 63% increase in website traffic.
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) performance improved across all major metrics, with Vavengers. co.uk rising from 22nd to top ranking for the search term ‘FGM charity’.
• 850 new followers on social media.
While these measurable impacts were important, the most rewarding part was reading the comments from the 300 nurses who attended or watched the conference. One said: “As a student nurse, it is inspiring and empowering to see how it is never too late to make a difference and be the change we want to see via education, and exercising our own personal power.”
The Vavengers: The increase in profile of the topic and our work has provided a very helpful backdrop for us to progress important policy conversations. It will take time to get the changes we desperately need, and the funding poverty affecting charities like ours is very real, but this work has undoubtedly accelerated our efforts. There’s certainly more attention on the issue from UK policy makers –demonstrated by the fact that the NHS’ Chief Nursing Officer, Dame Ruth May, shadowed a leading FGM/C Specialist Midwife Huda Mohamed MBE, and The Vavengers’ Campaign & Community Ambassador. Our message was also platformed on BBC Politics London twice. On both occasions different parts of our work were featured, and we took part in the live studio debate, with our CEO Sema Gornall providing expert analysis alongside two MPs. We’re determined to keep up the momentum!
Find out more about FGM/C and The Vavengers at www.thevavengers.co.uk
REFERENCES
1. NHS England. Female Genital Mutilation Datasets: Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/ clinical-audits-and-registries/female-genital-mutilationdatasets Accessed October 2024
2. UNICEF - Female Genital Mutilation: A global concern. Available at: https://data.unicef.org/resources/femalegenital-mutilation-a-global-concern-2024/ Accessed October 2024
3. NHS. Overview – Female genital mutilation (FGM). Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/femalegenital-mutilation-fgm/ Accessed October 2024
SWITCHED ON TO INNOVATION
IN CONVERSATION WITH ANNA MAXWELL, FOUNDER AND CEO OF CONSUMER HEALTHCARE COMPANY, MAXWELLIA
IS IT WOMEN IN HEALTH OR WOMEN’S HEALTH?
Unsure of the focus for this edition of Innovation Uncovered, the simplest thing was to cover all bases.
The journal would hear from a powerful, thoughtful and dynamic woman in the healthcare business, who has been doing incredible things for women’s health. That impromptu game of ‘Guess Who?’ left one candidate, the force of nature that is Anna Maxwell. Anna is the founder and CEO of her almost eponymous consumer healthcare company, Maxwellia, which in just a few years has overturned established opinion about the switch to over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, with the launch of, frankly, revolutionary, options for women’s health.
Innovation Uncovered spoke to Anna about her career, the enduring innovation of OTC and how women’s health presents an opportunity for healthcare companies.
[IU] Why is women’s health such a focus for Maxwellia?
[AM] There’s finally been recognition that women’s health has been underserved for a long time. There is now a momentum shift to put that right. Part of this was the appointment of a Women’s Health Czar, Dame Lesley Regan, who has set about identifying shortcomings in the way women are served in the healthcare system, from not being listened to, to being sent away without help.
From a Maxwellia standpoint, we didn’t deliberately set out to focus on women’s health, however given that this is a poorly served category, it is where the first opportunities were identified. It made commercial sense to pursue these as they had broad acceptance; half the population were crying out for better access to medicines, and we knew we could help.
In 2021, Maxwellia pioneered the switch of the daily oral contraceptive pill, Lovima. A third of women were unable to access the contraceptive services they need. But we weren’t just answering a call from women; The Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists also wanted change. At the time, there were just two people on the Maxwellia team, so we had to work tirelessly to make this happen. It was a fight, and one of the most revolutionary things to have happened in women’s health for 60 years, which I’m actually very proud of.
[IU] That’s quite some impact from just two people. How did things evolve from there?
[AM] Last autumn we extended our contraception range with an accessibly priced, branded emergency contraceptive pill, LoviOne. And this year we are further expanding our women’s health portfolio into menstrual health with two new brands: Evana for heavy menstrual bleeding, containing tranexamic acid, and Ultravana for period pain, containing naproxen. Right now, there are limited options to manage disruptive periods through self-care. Evana is the only OTC solution for women who suffer with heavy menstrual bleeding. It’ll be a game-changer for so many women. The innovation doesn’t stop with the product; we try to innovate in everything we do. Whether that’s the way we present our pharmacy team training or through our disruptive consumer advertising campaigns.
Our brands stand out. Women’s health has become a pillar of our innovation portfolio, and there’s more products to come. But we look at anywhere we can bring meaningful new product development to the consumer healthcare market.
[IU] Is there any more reason why women’s health has been riper for innovation?
[AM] Once you’ve recognised that there’s a problem that’s underserved, then the opportunities flow. Women aren’t afraid to talk about their conditions and the benefits they get from the solutions. Look at hormone replacement therapy, a lot of that is influencer and word of mouth driven, and now the momentum is there. It can only be positive to harness that momentum to actually improve the quality of women’s overall health care.
For the first time ever, only very recently, I pitched Maxwellia to a 100% female investor group. It’s a new fund called Lifted. They recognise that globally, female-founded businesses only receive 2% of all existing investment, yet we actually create more profitable businesses with higher returns than guys do. What I found was that when I talked about the state of the health system in the UK, the need to widen access to medicines, what Maxwellia is trying to do, everyone immediately got it. I think that’s down to a level of understanding, based on experience, from women that doesn’t exist in the male population who think they’re invincible until up to the age of 50. Women are caring for kids, parents, perhaps their own partners, which means they instantly get the value Maxwellia brings.
[IU] You mentioned branding and marketing. Switching away from innovation, what does creativity in those areas mean to you? And on taste: how do you know when a creative is right for a Maxwellia brand?
[AM] Creativity positions us as a company with meaningful products. It helps us stand out. We’re a small pioneering startup; we aren’t a massive pharmaceutical company. Creativity enables us to punch above our weight, so everything you see from us will have a degree of disruption.
Ultimately, being a founder CEO, our brands reflect my vision. Yes we have a team of people, but if I’m comfortable with it, then we’ll push boundaries. Our latest campaign for heavy menstrual bleeding contains a blood image in our advertising, which is edgy.
On the question of taste, I guess it comes back to me. I’m happy to push the boundaries to be distinctive. As an example, we aren’t allowed to use influencers, so we created an avatar. She was an influencer but not a ‘real’ one. We got loads of media coverage for that, which really helped.
Ultimately, everyone at Maxwellia really believes in what we’re doing. They are passionate and that helps them hit the right tone.
[IU] If you were only allowed to select one, what is the Maxwellia innovation you are most proud of?
[AM] We’ve not launched it yet! Actually, I guess, I hadn’t really realised how innovative the switch engine is. We don’t really shout about that too much, but without it none of the rest of it happens. There were sceptics in the beginning, but we persevered and now we’re in a position where we can scale it and build brands in perpetuity.
[IU] Final question. What, for you, does the future hold for innovation in healthcare?
[AM] From a Maxwellia point of view, we will continue to bring meaningful innovative products to the consumer health care market. As time progresses, our ambition gets bigger, so we will tackle more challenging projects and we will be able to expand internationally.
We will also harness the huge scope of technology, using real-world data and artificial intelligence in our process to make things more efficient and improve the information that we provide to the regulators to make things happen faster.
[IU] What about the broader healthcare landscape?
Self-care and wider access to medicines is essential for a sustainable future of healthcare. Bodies like the National Health Service (NHS) and Department for Health and Social Care see that people can do, and are prepared to do, more for themselves, reducing the burden on healthcare systems. Outside of that, we see a shift back to wellness and prevention, which we are exploring too.
[IU] The final word goes to you as a woman in health. Where do you see women in healthcare in the future?
[AM] I think healthcare is really a great career for women; a very positive environment for women to thrive, but you have to hustle, and you have to stand your corner. If you have ambition, perseverance and resilience, you can make it happen.
Speaking to Anna, it’s clear that her recipe for success is equal parts hard work, steely determination and a willingness to challenge the status quo in pursuit of better ideas. She’s a 21st century healthcare icon. If you’d like to learn more about Maxwellia, you can visit: www.maxwellia.com
